Explain Plato's Rebuttal Of The Divine Command Theory
Plato’s rebuttal of the Divine Command Theory
What is the Divine Command Theory? The Divine Command Theory is described as “certain actions are right because they are what God wills us to do”. There are many people in this world who believe their ethical and moral decisions are made because of the religion they follow. Although most religion have their own interpretations of the Word of God one of the basic beliefs is the God wills us to do good things and stay away from evil things. However for many centuries many philosophers, one in particular, Plato, has questioned the Divine Command Theory.
Plato’s Euthyphro dilemma, Plato one of our great philosophers questioned the Divine Command Theory. The background of this questioning actually came about when Socrates, another philosopher, was at a courthouse awaiting his hearing and Euthyphro also awaiting a hearing at the courthouse began a discussion on what is piety arouse? Piety can be defined in several ways however the basic understanding in the conversation between Socrates and Euthyphro, is piety means holiness, a mixture of humility and religious devotion.
Euthyphro was at the courthouse because he was prosecuting someone for murder, his father. Socrates was awaiting trial for being accused of corrupting the young people and mostly not believing in the gods the city believed in.
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Euthyphro was prosecuting his father for doing something wrong which would be impiety, not holy, but Socrates states that is one example of piety however not a broader conclusive definition. Knowing when to pray and what to pray for on a specific occasion however Euthyphro stated holiness is what is loved by god’s and unholiness is what is hated by gods. Socrates continued his challenge by stating that gods do disagree about what is just and not just and some things are hated by gods and not hated by
Euthyphro And The Crito Analysis
529 Words | 3 PagesBy questioning holiness, gods, piety, impiety and justice, Socrates questioned the authority, the choices it made, and the principals it followed. Unlike in The Euthyphro, in The Crito, Socrates defended the law and authorities. The debate took place in jail where Socrates was waiting for his execution. Crito, his friend, came to visit and tried to persuade Socrates to escape.
Socrates Piety And Impiety Analysis
499 Words | 2 PagesSocrates and Euthyphro ran into each other outside the court of Athens. Socrates is there because he is charged for impiety by Meletus, while Euthyphro is there because he is prosecuting his own father for an unintentional murder of a household slave. After listening to the reason of Euthyphro’s presence at court, Socrates is flattered by him, as he thinks surely a person bringing charges against his own father must have great knowledge on piety and impiety. He thinks no one will do such a thing unless they are absolutely sure it is the right thing to do so he asks Euthyphro to teach him what holiness is and what piety and impiety is, so that it might help him in his trial against Meletus. In reply at first Euthyphro says that piety is what he is doing, prosecuting the person who offended religion by murdering, even though he is his own father.
Socrates And Euthyphro Argument
1310 Words | 6 PagesFor the individuals who are searching for a tasteful meaning of devotion, the discourse is a failure, for no conclusion has been come to concerning the exact idea of that goodness. It has now and again been kept up that the genuine motivation behind logic isn't to answer addresses yet rather scrutinize the appropriate responses that have been given. Anyways, this is precisely what Socrates has been doing in this back and forth. Euthyphro has displayed a few speedy and prepared responses to the inquiry "What is devotion?" however upon magnification, each of these questions has appeared to be unsuitable.
Euthyphro's Argument Analysis
495 Words | 2 PagesSocrates and Euthyphro meet at the Agora, and begin discussing what brings them to the king-archons court. Euthyphro begins telling Socrates, that he is bringing a case against his father who murdered a servant. Socrates is astounded that Euthyphro is bringing an indictment against his father, and asks for wisdom concerning a statement of piety so that he may fight his own accusations impiety. Euthyphro first proposes that “What is dear to the gods is pious, what is not is impious.”
Analysis Of Euthyphro And Socrates
484 Words | 2 PagesHUM2225 Dr. Hotchkiss September 30, 2016 Moral Insight Plato’s Euthyphro is based on a lesson between Socrates and Euthyphro outside of the Athenian court about the definition of pious or impious. Euthyphro was surprised to see Socrates there and even more curious to find out why he was there. Socrates explained that the court was persecuting him for impiety because Meletus was spreading rumors about him corrupting the Athenian youth. Euthyphro explains to Socrates that he was there to prosecute his father for murdering a farm worker named Dionysus.
Socrates And Euthyphro's Argument Analysis
893 Words | 4 PagesThis is so because it becomes difficult to know whether moral goodness is independent of the will of God or if it is as a result of His will. The Euthyphro dilemma offers two intensely differing sides. On one side of the argument, theorists are of the opinion that morality is whatever God wills. This position then brings into question the goodness of God’s will if His command vindicates what is wrong. Arguing that goodness is the determined by God shows that what is rights is so because God wills it to be right.
Evaluating Socrates Claim In The Apology
835 Words | 4 PagesEuthyphro tries to explain him that he was doing the same as Zeus did to his father and therefore being pious. But Socrates argues that it is just an example and not an explanation. He tries again and says what gods like is pious and what they dislike is not. But Socrates points out the fallacy in that argument that one god might not agree with another to which he replies in his third attempt what all gods like is pious and what they all hate is impious. Here, in this example we can see that how he searches for a concrete and complete definition for being pious.
Socrates: Should It In The Right To Escape?
837 Words | 4 Pages“May it be for the best. If it so please the gods, so be it.” (Cooper 44). Socrates states that if it pleases the gods then thats whats supposed to happen. Socrates has his morals that he grew up with and so does everyone else.
Socrates And Meno: The Definition Of Virtue
771 Words | 4 PagesGod gave us his word and teachings through the Bible. There you can find all things that are virtuous, and it commands us to dwell upon these things in Philippians 4:8: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. (NKJV Phil. 4:8) Here God is telling us to “meditate” on all things that are good and virtuous and describes what is good and virtuous. (NKJV Phil. 4:8).
Is Euthyphro Pious In Prosecuting His Father
715 Words | 3 PagesThe second, Socrates asks Euthyphro, have you known what a piety is if your attitude is confident that you indict your father for a crime. (Plato (1997), p.77.). Socrates tries to look for one standard definition of piety. Let, have a look at what piety means to Euthyphro. He comes up with the several suggestions about piety: “to prosecute a wrongdoer is pious and not to prosecute is impious”; “what all the gods hate is impious, and what they all love is pious”; “where there is piety there is also justice” (Plato (1997), p.88.).
How Did Socrates Corrupt The Youth
1535 Words | 7 PagesSocrates’s official new charge “asserts that Socrates does injustice by corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel” (24b, p. 73). By looking deeper into the dialogue of The Apology and Euthyphro, one can see how passionately Socrates strives to express to the Athenian people his innocence in teaching the youth and worshiping of the gods. Socrates maintains his innocence in teaching the youth for three reasons. Primarily, there is no proof or evidence from past examples in which Socrates has taught the youth because no one has come out and said so. Socrates brings up a valid point that his so-called ‘teachings’ haven’t changed over time and therefore if he is accused
Euthyphro's Dilemma Vs Divine Command Theory
123 Words | 1 PagesEuthyphro’s Dilemma is when Socrates asks Euthyphro, “Does God love goodness because it is good, or is it good because God loves it?” Euthyphro’s Dilemma is that God determines what is good and evil, right and wrong. This dilemma challenges the Divine Command theory because according to Euthyphro’s Dilemma we would be obligated to do something wrong because God commanded it. This conflicts with the Divine Command theory because it would imply that cruelty could be morally right if God told us to do so. The idea that cruelty can be morally right goes up against the belief in the Divine Command Theory because it proposes that an action's status that is morally good is equivalent to whether it is commanded by God
Socrates: The Corruption Of Athenian Democracy
1140 Words | 5 PagesWith this statement, Plato was addressing the jurors and people gathered around during his trial about how the law isn’t used as a way to make sure that justice is carried out anymore because men have been blinded by the power given to them to pass verdicts without paying attention to whether it corresponded to the law of the land. Once again, it can be seen that just like Socrates told the judges how to do their job, he 's telling the jurors how to perform their
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1218 Words | 5 PagesThe last theory is Aristotle’s virtue ethics which states that we should move from the concern towards good action and to focus on the concern with good character. This paper argues that Aristotle’s virtue ethics is better than the other ethical theories. The divine command theory says that what is morally right and what is morally wrong is determined by God and God alone. People who follow the divine command theory believe that God is the creator of all things, therefore, he must also be the creator of morally right and wrong acts.
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